Marcus Paige returns to form and leads UNC men's basketball to ACC Tournament final

WASHINGTON, D.C. — He said it to himself, but everyone saw him mouth the words.

“I’m back.”

Marcus Paige had just hit his third 3-pointer of Friday’s ACC Tournament semifinal. The North Carolina men’s basketball team would go on to win 78-47, advancing to the ACC Tournament championship for the second straight year.

And Paige was the reason why.

Maybe saying he was the one reason, the singular reason, is too strong. The Tar Heels did win by 31 points, after all; even without Paige’s game-high 16 points, they likely would have been fine.

But then, maybe it isn’t.

For the past two seasons, Paige has been “the guy” for UNC. The top scorer, the team leader.

That hasn’t been the case this season. Where he once carried the team, for the most part this season, the team has carried him. 

There have been breakthroughs — 21 points at Notre Dame in early February and 15 against Pittsburgh about a week later — but since early January, Paige has mostly been in a funk.

That ended on Friday.

“To make ‘em feels good,” said Paige after the game. “I was able to get in a rhythm and knock some down.”

He started early, real early. Two minutes in, to be specific. Paige stuck his hands out, looking for the pass outside the arc. Joel Berry obliged, and Paige uncorked from deep as soon as the ball hit his hands.

Nothing but net.

His second 3-pointer came later, three and a half minutes before halftime. UNC was in the midst of an 18-0 run to close out the half. Paige had the ball this time, with a Notre Dame defender tight on him.

He drove, then stopped, then stepped back and shot. His defender fell down.

And so did his shot.

“Marcus had a huge smile whenever he hit a couple of threes,” Justin Jackson said. “It’s been kind of a tougher road for my man, and to see him come out, hit those shots and just have fun?

“It’s just great to see.”

But Paige was only getting started. With two minutes left, he had the ball at the top of the key.

It worked last time, Marcus, try it again.

So he dribbled a little and crossed over his defender. Pull up. It’s good. He smiled and hustled back on defense and then, when seemingly everything was going right, he mouthed it.

“I’m back.”

Paige would hit another 3-pointer in the second half, but that’s not what matters. Remember the smile, the fist pumping, all the excitement when he hit that third shot. Remember the confidence the confidence he instilled in his teammates.

So, is Marcus back?

“I don’t think he was ever gone,” Kennedy Meeks said. “All he cares about is leading this team, and that’s what he’s been doing the entire season.

“I’m just happy that he finally knocked some big-time shots down for us.”

The swarm of postgame reporters is back. Cameramen are boxing each other out just for a glimpse of the man who led the Tar Heels on Friday.

Maybe he always had. Theo Pinson is three lockers down from Paige and the media circus encircling him. He’s looking over at his teammate, and he’s smiling.

“We want him to shoot those shots, because he’s proven that in his recent years at Carolina,” Pinson said. “We want him…

He stopped and pursed his lips. Then he corrected himself.

“We need him to win a national championship.”

@BrendanRMarks

sports@dailytarheel.com